His Name is Mac
by BlackMH
Summary: As recent events have played out, two of the most notorious ponies in PonyVille are about to get closer. But as Rainbow Dash involves herself with the red stallion, she learns that there's more to the farmer than he lets on. CANCELLED
1. His name

His name is Mac.

For the denizens of PonyVille, any pony who has lived in town for more than a day would know of the one stallion who stands out above the rest. That is registered metaphorically and physically, as any pony who has ever bought Sweet Apple Acres brand apples would get the reference. He stands a head taller than any stallion, any pony for that matter, the reddest shade of a coat you will ever see, and quite possibly the owner of the world's largest cutie mark, contributed by his incredibly tall physique.

His most distinctive feature would be the horse collar worn at the base of his neck. There's always the assumption that he had so much work to do, he never really bothered taking it off as it'd take longer to remove and put back on as it would take resting between breaks. Rumor has it that he even sleeps with the collar on, though he has yet to clarify this. The collar has become such a staple image of himself, that if he were to suddenly walk into town with the collar left at home, it'd take every pony a second look to see that there was a new stallion in town, even though he was the tallest horse any pony had ever known.

Big Macintosh, that's what they call him. Or Mac, for short.

He is very well known as an employee of his family's business, Sweet Apple Acres, the most successful apple chain in all of Equestria. He's also renowned as the family's hardest worker, making up lost time on the account of Applejack's time spent for friends, amongst other incidents and events like a certain swarm that raided the poor village that took weeks to recover from.

A stallion like this can have many words to speak of, but perhaps the one thing every pony attributes him to even more than the collar would be his disposition to never utter more than three words a sentence, if he were to speak at all. Three words, a greeting, a thank you, and the characteristic 'Eeyup' were all that ever left the lips of the big red pony. You'd be lucky hearing him form a longer sentence than that, but any pony who has ever tried quickly learns that he is far too busy to make small talk and affiliate with random ponies. Of PonyVille, the only ponies who ever hear Big Macintosh speak a volume on a regular basis were his sisters Applejack and Applebloom and his granny, Granny Smith. Everyone else gets the usual vocabulary treatment, or what little there is of it. To get Mac to speak more than four words would require the patience of a slug and the persistence of a desperate carnivore.

Of course, only one pony ever succeeded, but she's been on poor grounds with the apple family since she attended the last family potluck of theirs. Things have patched up since then, even Applejack made friends with her, that ever active pony who hangs around at the SugarCube Corner. All family potlucks and news of it had been kept under wraps and out of the ears of the village, though, in fear of the pink one returning…

Anyhow, as a stallion who rarely speaks his mind, it comes to no surprise that, as a consequence, no one really knows the big guy personally; not much to go on with three words a day and a trademark 'Eeyup' from him. Most would assume Applejack knew a thing or two about the earth pony, but any pony who's ever asked discovers that even his sister herself knows little of her eldest brother, whom she's worked with for so many years of her life.

As a result, the final part of Big Macintosh's charm is his mystery. Any mare who takes a long enough interest in the stallion starts with the impression of an easy mystery on their hooves. But the longer they study him, the more difficult he is to fully understand. Eventually, they give up with a frustrating strain in their heads and declare the farmer not worth their time, but if you were to ask any mare, you'd learn of the lasting impression the pony leaves on those of the insatiable curiosity. It'd be a lie to say that these ponies were only interested in the sweet taste of their family's apples. That's only half the truth, the other half is the lingering hope of a glimpse of the red stallion to walk by or, even better, personally sell them the delicious fruit they spend their gold on. A quick glance, grip the apples, hear his captivating way of wishing them back for more apples, and leave the stand with a faint blush on their features. It was the only time Big Macintosh ever spoke first to another pony, but those words were savored almost as much as he was.

By now, it should be obvious that Big Macintosh isn't just any pony living in PonyVille. Any group of mares, or even fillies, get together and half of the time all they can talk about is the farmer stud who walked in and out of town a few minutes ago. Of all the groups of mare who ever got together on a regular basis, the one group to speak the least of him would be the one Applejack is a part of, a rather typical discovery as one would imagine the discontent in the cowgirl's hearing of her brother talked about like the next top male model.

That's not to say she wasn't aware, however. But most of the time, she ignores it, paying no mind to what her ear catches during her daily routine walk around town and with her friends. In fact, she was rather proud of her brother, being a very impressive stallion that every mare in PonyVille simply couldn't stop talking about. Why, if Macintosh ever decided to get himself a partner or girlfriend to spend his days with, she'd imagine him having little trouble seeking a pony to receive his affection.

Of course, she'd never expect him to find another mate, not ever again…

Back to her friends. Applejack had an odd circle of friends she hung around with but, oddly enough, demonstrated little display of amorous sentiment over the stallion brother of hers. Twilight Sparkle, her most recent friend, had just moved in a few months ago, and although she had already met the horse on her first day in PonyVille, she still needed to grow more accustomed to village life before she grew an interest in PonyVille gossip. One would imagine Rarity, the town's famous fashion designer, would have taken an interest to such a noble stud. But alas, her passion lay in the field of fashion, and the fact that the steed's clothing size was a very rare one in Equestria, being one of the biggest breeds in the world, left little there for her to seek an interest in the farmer by herself. Pinkie Pie, the notorious party pony, rarely ate apples, as one would be shocked to hear, and she was even more rarely allowed on Sweet Apple Acres ever since that incident a few years back. Fluttershy, the timid sweetheart and friend to all animals, never had the heart to look all the way up at Big Macintosh. Handsome, tall, a fine gentlecolt, Big Macintosh was many things, but not many considered him intimidating, at least to Fluttershy.

That only left one last pony friend of the five. The one pony who is probably more well known than Rarity herself. The pegasus who made headline news at The Best Young Flyer's Competition. The only pegasus to have ever performed a Sonic Rainboom, and survived, while simultaneously saving the WonderBolts from certain death.

Her name is Rainbow Dash.

Her reasons for not taking an interest in her friend's brother are a little more complicated than the rest of her mare friends. For one, the pegasus pony spends most of her time in the air, to the point were seeing her on the ground without the company of friends was an extremely rare sight. She simply loved the sky so much, it was practically her life. Which lead to the other thing that contributed to the mare's lack of acknowledgement of the stallion. Training. Lots of training, to prepare herself for trying out for the WonderBolts, the most talented air flight team in all of Equestria. She trained every day honing her flying skills and practicing her flight tricks to make herself a formidable, if not equal, talent to the WonderBolts. This training took up a large portion of her schedule, in between weather jobs and time spent for friends. That, and the fact that she rarely visited the ground for some casual alone time, all contributed to make her probably the only pony in the village to not understand what there is to the stallion that is Big Macintosh.

But, as recent events have played out, that barrier of invisibility has finally faded, and fate is finally free to enact its whim on the two most notorious ponies in all of PonyVille.

"One Grass Berry drink, please."

With a nod, the waiter turned around and retreated to the building to register her order. The rainbow maned pegasus stared at the pony until he disappeared into the building, unconsciously staring at the steed's acknowledgeable flank. As soon as he did, the pegasus shook her head and propped an elbow on the table, scorning herself for rudely checking out the waiter, even if he didn't notice.

The pegasus sighed, not out of depression but one of relief she had been holding in all week. A few minutes ago, she had just flown back from CloudsDale, hanging out with her idol team, the WonderBolts. After she saved them during the Best Young Flyer's Competition, she finally managed to earn a day to spend with them, and she was determined to make the best impression of herself to the members if she were to ever be nominated as the fourth member. The day had sped by quickly without them noticing, and the group was having much fun with each other; Dash never wanted it to end. When nightfall came and the WonderBolts had to leave, Dash nearly had a heart attack when the leader turned back around, smiled, and said 'We should hang out some more'. Dash was finally free to spend more time with her idols than most of the fans were allowed to. This alone made Dash excited at the thought of it; she had spent nearly the whole night thinking of more activities they were to do together the next time they met up.

This was exactly what she had done. All her time spent in CloudsDale was with the WonderBolts again, and it was even better than last time. Granted, it only lasted half as long as the team needed to attend their next meeting, but it was enough for Rainbow Dash to hold her over for the next encounter with the team, motivated in thought by the team's anticipation of seeing the pegasus again.

Now, the sigh earlier was half done out of relief. The other half was in exhaustion. She had done marathons with the WonderBolts, watched their tricks performed and attempted to try them under their authorization, and she even got to practice with them in the new moves they were planning. Needless to say, she was exhausted, but she couldn't be happier.

Exhausted, indeed, enough to be sitting here at ground level to order herself a drink, which was taking a while. She'd prefer the taste of fresh rain water from the clouds, but today she felt like having something a little more refreshing. She never recalled 'refreshing' and 'irritatingly long to make' sharing the same meaning. An impatient groan echoed in her throat; she should've just went with the rain water.

Her ear perked, catching wind of the sounds of giggling belonging to a group of young mares at the table behind her. Now, Rainbow Dash wasn't one to eavesdrop, not that she would admit it at least, but she would only listen in on anything that caught her interest. Anything else was disregarded.

"Did you see him walk into town the other day?" a high pitched voice spoke.

"Yah, like, who didn't?" said one pony, who had the most irritating stuck up voice you could ever imagine, "No mare could miss that stud. That pony is as big as a house."

"Mmm, I wouldn't mind living under _that_ roof," spoke a bubbly voice, followed by an uneasy stream of giggling.

The rainbow pony merely rolled her eyes at such girl talk. 'Give me a break,' she thought. Sometimes, she found it hard to believe that she was the same gender as those ponies. She could never imagine herself guffawing at another male horse. Not that she wouldn't, mind you.

"Is it just me, or did he brush his tail this afternoon?" the irritating voice brought up.

"That speaks volumes about what you find more fascinating about him," the high pitched voice joked.

A round of giggling, and then the bubbly voice rung up, "But seriously, you guys. Do you know what I would give to comb my hoof through that magnificent orange mane of his?"

A simultaneous sigh and an eye roll from the one pony misfortunate enough to be a table across from these snooty mares.

"Or over his muscles…?"

"Or to ride that steed back home?"

The other two snapped out of their fantasy and looked at the mare oddly. Confused at first, the pony explained herself.

"What? Haven't you ever wanted to be carried back to your house after an exhausting day by a handsome steed like Mac?"

Mac.

All of a sudden, her attention was caught.

'Mac? Who's he?' she thought, 'I don't remember a 'Mac' in PonyVille.'

"Well, when you put it like that…" the pony said, driving away the naughty thought in her head, "that would be such a romantic way to end the day."

Rainbow was busy piecing the puzzle together in her head to pay any further attention to their conversation.

'Red coat, orange mane, tall, Mac…' the pegasus knew the pony sounded familiar, but she couldn't get the steed to appear in her head. It made her realize how out of the loop she was in PonyVille talk; not that she cared. She'd rather die than compare to those haughty mares behind her.

But this trivia was killing her…

"Hey, do you know what he was in town for?"

"Oh yeah! I hear he was checking in on his little filly sister at school. He does it every day, you know."

"Look who's stalking. It figures you'd know that."

"Have you figured out what kind of food he likes?"

"Now girls, what kind of question is that to ask of me? …although, if I had to guess, it'd be green apples."

"Apples, huh? Not surprising."

"A more accurate guess, I would say. Seeing how his cutie mark is a green apple and all."

Rainbow Dash was now struggling to bring up the exact memory of the steed they were talking about. The combination of color schemes in PonyVile were as varied as the colors of her mane, but contrary in effect, this only made remembering the pony harder than it needed to be. Mares made up most of the population of PonyVille, but of the stallions that lived here, she never saw one with a red coat or orange mane; at least she swore she didn't. Red coat and orange mane, she never met any stallion with that combination, but every time she puts the two colors on an imaginary horse mannequin in her head, she gets the image of a farm or an apple with a funny hair.

Wait a minute. Apples…

A faint memory of a pony blurred into her mind's eye along with a field of apple trees in the background. She remembers all the times she's flown over or through the apple farm and remembers the familiar image of another pony as she sped by the trees. Previously, she always passed it off as a basket of apples or an apple basket stranded by Applejack who was probably in the barn at the time. Only now did the image begin to familiarize itself with the shape of a stallion pony who was, she'd slap herself for using a simile by the haughty mares behind her, the size of a house. The comparison in image to a large pile of apples was the reason she could never remember his face when she tried to just now.

The figure was slowly piecing together. Red coat, orange mane, tall well-sculpted stallion…

…

…what was his name again?

Rainbow Dash groaned again. She was so close to solving the mystery in her head and the last piece of the puzzle was out of her reach due to her negligence. It almost hurt being so close to the answer and not knowing where the final equation lay. All she needed was the name, and she couldn't for the life of her remember it now. It was killing her…

"Hey, you think he might like dandelions?" the bubbly voice spoke, "I make a mean salad. He might like it."

Rainbow Dash lifted her neck up, then shook her head furiously. No. She wouldn't resort to making conversation with some irritable mares. She would rather die than acknowledge or affiliate herself with those mares.

Though it was tempting…

"Nah, I think it won't work on him. He probably has apples overtaking his system, to the point where anything else is poison," followed by a round of giggling from the table.

She tapped her hoof on the table impatiently. Her mind was unable to connect the image of the pony in her head with every stallion name she ever heard of, to no success. It wouldn't be bothering her so if that drink she had ordered minutes ago had arrived by now.

"You know what I would like, though? To buy an apple from him, and have him give me the apple, from his mouth to my mouth," this resulted in an irritable simultaneous eek that would make one rip off one's own ears.

She had just had about enough.

It was one thing to have much difficulty putting her brain to work into concentrating on the memory of the stallion the girls were talking about, but it was another thing entirely listening to the frustrating talk of snooty mares like themselves to make that task all the more difficult. She could handle the high pitched voices, the haughty accents, the giggling, but the breaking point was having all three mares squeak all at once over a surrealistic overestimated fantasy of theirs.

Rainbow Dash's ear perked up at the silence of the mare's behind her, twitching her wings when she felt their confused and mildly frightened stares on her person. She had just realized she killed the silence with her noise, the sudden loud bang of her hooves on the wooden table as a substituted reaction to something less violent in response to the noise of the mares behind her. Her rage mellowed out and rapidly replaced with embarrassing uneasiness as she slowly turned her head to eye the ponies behind her.

"Uh, eheheh. Fly," she laughed an excuse for the sound.

The ponies were still staring at her oddly with an inquisitive stare. While unnerving, the pegasus decided that now was an opportunity to ask these mares the question to find out the name of the pony in her head. Originally, she wasn't going to, but seeing as how she failed that objective covering up her fury vented slam on the table, she might as well bring up the question anyway.

"So, um," she started, moving her arm over the back of the chair, "What pony are you girls talking about?"

The mares widened their eyes and quickly glanced at each other, facing disbelief that there was a mare in town who did not know of the steed every girl was talking about. Dash raised a brow at this, wondering what the big deal was, and began to regret asking her question at the sound of laughter from the mares in front of her.

"You mean, you don't know?" a unicorn with blue curly hair and green coat spoke.

"How could you, like, not know who he is?" asked a pony with green short hair and blue coat, and a lipstick cutie mark visible, "He's only the most handsome stallion in all of PonyVille."

"And he would be…?" Dash asked again.

The ponies blinked in utter disbelief.

"You really don't know?" spoke up a blue and turquoise pony with a cream colored coat, "He's that farmer who works at the apple farm."

"And his name is?" Dash asked again, getting to the point of her question.

"His name is Mac, sugar cube," a familiar voice to the right of her spoke up.


	2. Better Acquainted

Better Acquainted

Rainbow Dash turned her head to see the owner of the voice. To her surprise, she was met with the familiar face of a yellow maned orange pony in a cowboy hat looking at her with a face of intrigue.

"Ah never thought ah'd see you at a place like this," the mare said as she walked to a chair opposite of the pegasus.

"Oh, heh, I was just stopping by for a drink," Rainbow said, disregarding the existence of the group behind her willingly as she removed her arm from the chair's back and sat normally.

Applejack, that was her name, pushed the seat back and sat in it as she spoke, "Ah couldn't help but overhear word of my brother being passed around like a hot potato, but ah was very surprised to see you holding it this time, sugar cube."

Rainbow Dash blinked a few times, twice for her confusing analogy of a baked food and once for being caught making gossip with other mares. At this, she chuckled a little out of embarrassment, then decided to explain herself to Applejack's assumption about being part of gossip talk. Last thing she wanted to do was to be mistaken as a haughty gossip filly in any shape, form, or level.

"Uh, not really, Applejack. I was only talking about him because he sounded familiar."

Out of the view of her eyes, the waiter had managed to sneak close enough without being noticed to present the mare with her drink on a miniature platter. It was a tall glass of purple liquid with bits of green in it, and a blackberry and raspberry floating in the cup with a straw laying to the side. Taken by surprise, Rainbow Dash blinked before she said 'About time!' impatiently in her head.

As she reached for the straw with her mouth, the waiter suddenly spoke up to the surprise guest at the table.

"Miss Applejack! What a surprise to see you here!" Rainbow Dash looked up with a straw in her mouth.

Applejack put on a sly face as she replied, "Afternoon, Silver Platter. Ah was just walkin' by when ah saw my friend here, so ah decided to sit down an' chit chat with her."

The waiter bowed, "It's an honor to have you here. Would you like a drink on the house?"

The pegasus across from the farmer blinked and widened her eyes at the offer. Her straw nearly fell out of her mouth. Applejack merely repressed a chuckle.

"Sure, Silver Platter, since you're offerin' an' all," the earth pony replied.

The waiter nodded and turned to the rainbow maned pegasus, "And for you, young mare, your drink is on the house as well."

The waiter turned around before seeing Rainbow Dash's eyes widened further and her mouth hung wider agape. As the horse trotted back into the building, the winged mare turned to the cowgirl holding her same expression.

"What was that just now?" she asked, "Do you 'tip' the manager or something?"

Applejack rose a hoof to share her thoughts, until she came to realize what Rainbow Dash was implying. At this, she scowled her face at her, insulted.

"Now what's that s'ppose to mean?" she shot.

The rainbow pegasus blinked as she continued, "For yer information, Sweet Apple Acres has an affiliation with this 'ere rest'rant. We provide the apples for their foods an' drinks an' our workers get discounts on their items. There's no tippin' the work horse here as yer implyin'."

Rainbow Dash blinked and shifted her head back in fear of insinuating her implications on a friend. She hated when she did that.

"Uh, sorry. My mind was in the gutter. Eheheh…"

Applejack stared meekly, watching the mare embarrassingly dip her straw into the drink, before she rolled her eyes and returned to the original subject of the conversation.

"Ah suppose so, seein' as how you were talkin' 'bout Big Macintosh earlier," she said, with emphasis as she raised her hoof in a cup manner.

Rainbow Dash swallowed some of her drink and reeled back a little, putting on a critical face as she smacked her mouth a little. The drink wasn't the taste she was expecting, so she was taken by surprise of the sweet but somewhat tart taste of the liquid.

'Mm, a little sour…' she thought.

Turning her interest back into the conversation, she spoke, "Oh yeah, Macintosh?" she said with a questioning expression, "I don't really know who that guy is."

Before Applejack could reply, the waiter returned to the table with a cold glass of apple juice on a mini platter.

"Thanks, Silver Platter," she said.

"You're welcome, milady."

Rainbow Dash looked at the drink, then at her own, then an annoyed face at the waiter. He looked at her with the intention of a quick glance, but a raised brow appeared on his face as he had no idea of why the pegasus was looking at him like this.

"Umm, is something the matter, miss?" he asked.

Rainbow Dash wasn't originally going to say anything, but after the question, she considered it. However, she decided to disregard it as she didn't feel like saying anything here.

"No, nothing," she simply said, turning back to her drink and taking a sip from it.

The hostile impression still riddled the waiter's face as he left the table. Applejack calmly sipped her drink as she eyed the waiter before looking back to the mare sipping her drink.

"How were you goin' to pay for that, anyway?" she asked.

"Hmm?" Rainbow hummed, lips still on her straw.

"That's the grass berry drink mix, ain't it? That stuff costs forty six gold, about half my-"

The cowgirl couldn't finish her sentence, though, as the pegasus, out of sheer surprise, spat back out the contents of her mouth through the very straw she was sipping.

"Forty six gold? That's about twice my daily wage!"

It took her a moment to realize what she had done, exactly. Seeing the cowgirl before her soaked in the purple liquid, her hair dripping a little, made her sheepishly chuckle at her own fault, as she was prone to do. She couldn't tell if Applejack was annoyed or angry because the drink had soaked her hair and it lay droopily down her face, shielding her eyes.

"…well, that there's forty six gold all over mah features," Applejack said as she brought out a napkin from some mysterious space to wipe herself.

"Eheheh, sorry," Rainbow apologized. She couldn't help but notice how many consecutive screw ups she's been having today.

"Yer lucky that I came by to say hi," she said, brushing her hair a little, "else you'd be payin' for this in feathers, sugar cube."

That comment made her feel uneasy, taking a quick glance at her own pair of wings and remembering how little money she had on herself. Applejack never was one to lie about her analogies, Dash just hated how morbid they could be sometimes.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I don't come by here often," she apologized.

Applejack merely shook her head at the pegasus's incompetence, "Water under the bridge. So anyway, about Big Macintosh…"

She took a moment to sip her drink until she saw purple droplets on the glass. Remembering the deluge a few seconds ago, all of a sudden she wasn't thirsty and pushed the glass away. Rainbow Dash raised a brow at this, but said nothing.

"Yer not one for town gossip, aren't you?" she asked.

"Ehh, no. Not really," Rainbow replied.

"So you don't know what a big deal he is to most of the mares in town?"

Rainbow Dash shook her head.

Applejack sighed, "Well, I take it you never took a good long look at him, have you?"

The pegasus tapped her chin with her hoof, trying to recall if she ever managed to get a concrete view of the stallion. She never did.

"No, not really," she admitted, "I mean, I do fly over your farm every now and then, but I've never seen him around."

"Oh, he's usually in the barn doin' the hard jobs, maybe that's why."

Applejack looked at what was left of Rainbow Dash's drink in hopes of being able to leave the restaurant's grounds soon. Only a few ounces left, although, it didn't look like she wanted to finish the drink.

"Maybe you want to meet 'im?" she asked, the pegasus's interest hooked, "If we go into town now, we can catch him on his last errand today."

Rainbow Dash looked at her glass to see what was left of her drink. She clicked her tongue for a recap of the drinks taste and didn't feel like having anymore. She felt a little bad for not finishing the drink out of courtesy, but then again, it was free.

"Eh, sure. I got time," the pegasus said as she pushed her chair back.

"Great!" Applejack happily expressed as she stood up from her chair, "Somewhere in town is a fertilizer stand. That's the last place he'll be at assumin' he's followin' his list to the last period."

"Uh, what about the drinks?" Rainbow Dash asked, her back already facing the table.

"Don't worry 'bout that. 'Ey Silver Platter!" she shouted towards the building in general, "We'll be on our way!"

Without a response, the cowgirl turned and walked away from the area. Her pegasus friend looked at the building for a moment, hearing no comment of objection for the following seonds, then decided to disregard the importance of their leaving, seeing as how Applejack was good friends with the restaurant's business. They probably wouldn't mind leaving their unfinished drinks on the table. If Applejack didn't care, she shouldn't either.

…

"So, what's this guy like?" Rainbow Dash asked.

By now, the two mares were walking on their way to were the fertilizer was sold. The route led them along the edge of town, so the scenery around them was part greenery and part PonyVille. To their right were a few trees and plains beyond them and to their left was casual PonyVille business. Even here, ponies and yearlings were frolicking around in life in a random assort here and there.

Applejack tilted her head up, trying to summarize her brother in the necessary words.

"Well, that depends. What'cha heard of him?"

Rainbow Dash thought for a moment. She thought back to what those haughty mares were talking about of him. And believe her, it wasn't hard to forget, not with those accents.

"Well, he's big…"

"Duh," Applejack quickly interjected, earning a quick glare from the pegasus.

"…he's muscular," she continued, "…and apparently, every filly is talking about him. That's all I got."

"I take it that's yer physical impression of him?" Applejack asked.

"Well, yeah. I never met the guy, maybe. I don't remember."

The earth pony rolled her eyes. She wasn't sure why, but maybe it was because her brother's impression on her friend was already marred by filly gossip that she heard. Well, at least he was only half the talk every pony was talking about.

"Well, he is big an' strong, but he's also gentle and big hearted," she said, "Not really one for words, though."

Rainbow Dash raised a brow. She sort of liked the concept of a quiet friend. She preferred to be the one doing the talking in relationships. Maybe it was for this reason alone that she preferred hanging out with Fluttershy over Pinkie Pie; at least she had control over whatever took hold of the moment.

"Quiet, huh? What kind of quiet are we talking about here?" she asked, "Fluttershy quiet, or librarian quiet?"

Applejack thought of how to properly answer her friend's question. Big Macintosh definitely wasn't Fluttershy quiet, as Dash put it, but he wasn't the kind to value silence like a gem. He seemed to have his own definition of quiet.

"How 'bout, Big Macintosh quiet?" she replied.

The pegasus wasn't amused. She wanted a more specific response, but if it was going to be harder to explain than it needed to be, she'd rather find out for herself.

"Well, anyways," Applejack resumed, "He's an honest worker an' a good person to talk to, but he'll do what needs to be done as long as it's right."

"Sounds like a generic goody four-shoes," Rainbow Dash said, "He doesn't sound like my type."

Applejack was about to say something until her brow rose and she caught the meaning behind her friends words.

"Wait a minute, were you intendin' to check out my brother in hopes of a coltfriend?" she asked.

Dash looked at her friend with a shocked expression, the kind she would have if she was caught doing something you would not like.

"Uh, no! I was just thinking out loud! That's all…" she said, looking away to hide a faint blush.

Silence cursed the two for a moment before it was broken by the sound of chuckling. Rainbow Dash looked to her friend to see her jovially laughing at the thought, to her surprise.

"Ah, don't worry, sugar cube. It's not like he would've said yes," she said.

"Huh? Why not?"

"Well, Big Macintosh ain't exactly lookin' fer a filly to hook up with. He says he's got too much time on his hooves workin' an' no filly in PonyVille is worth his spare time."

Rainbow Dash would be lying if she said she wasn't disappointed at hearing that, but she reassured herself by listing in her head reason why dating a guy like Macintosh would be a waste of effort.

"Oh, well, that's okay. I'm not the kind of pony who wants an honest and quiet coltfriend. I prefer brash boys who won't tell me 'Let's sit down and look at the flowers' or 'That's too dangerous' or 'We can't do that, that's illegal'," she turned to Applejack, "Know what I mean?"

The cowgirl smirked, "Yeah, I understand. Big Macintosh ain't exactly that kind of person."

The two looked forward and saw the fertilizer shop still open. Rainbow Dash just remembered what they were walking for, and was looking forward to meeting the oft talked about Big Macintosh again.

"Although, I still want to meet him, personally," she said, Applejack smirking.

"Let's just hope he hasn't left yet. I told him to fetch sixty pounds of fertilizer this mornin'."

Rainbow Dash merely chuckled, "Sixty pounds? Are you trying to break his back or something?"

"Now don't underestimate Macintosh. He's a big stallion who can hold his weight," she said in his defense.

The pegasus didn't acknowledge those words as she would've. She just thought the image of a stallion lifting sixty pounds to be a terribly difficult feat and nigh impossible. This was just something she had to see for herself.

…

"Ah! Miss Applejack!" The store owner, an old brown stallion with grey facial hair, said, "What can I do ya for?"

Rainbow Dash didn't react to the smell of the store very well. She found it repugnant and difficult to take, but she didn't cover her muzzle out of respect for the store owner. It wasn't enough to keep her face from curling up, though.

"Howdy, Donald. I was just stoppin' by to see if my brother was around 'ere," she requested.

"You mean Big Macintosh? He's in the back," he answered, the two of them brightened up at this, "My boys are helpin' him with his purchases."

"That's great! Tell him I summoned 'im for me, would ya?" she asked.

"Certainly, dear."

The old steed entered a door leading to the back. As soon as he disappeared, Rainbow Dash exhausted her breathe, tired of enduring the rotten stench in the air.

"Ugh! What is with this place! It smells like a pig sty!" she complained.

Applejack turned to her friend in confusion, "Well, that is what a fertilizer shop's s'pposed to smell like."

Dash ignored her comment and asked, "What is fertilizer anyway?"

Applejack blinked, "You really don't know?" she asked, Rainbow shaking her head in response, "Tell me, you ever wondered why my farm bothers with our pigs?"

The pegasus merely raised a brow at this, giving to suggestion that she had no clue.

"Well, I can tell you that farmin' what they 'excrete' isn't our favorite job there."

Rainbow looked at Applejack, then to the door leading to the back, then gave a sniff to the air, then back at Applejack. Halfway, she figured she wasn't going to like her answer, and as the clues stacked on, she would find that she was right.

"…you mean…?"

"Yep. Pig manure," she simply said.

Dash swore she felt her stomach do a back flip and trip into a wall.

"I think I'm gonna be sick…" she answered.

"Well hey. Our plant's gotta grow somehow."

This only made Dash feel worse. She couldn't ever look at grass normally ever again.

"'Ey sis, ya called fer me?" a voice behind the door spoke up.

Rainbow Dash perked up and looked at the door in anticipation. As if by his voice alone, assuming that was his voice, the sick feeling in her stomach was quashed. The rank smell of manure was almost inexistent to her as she waited for that door to open and reveal to her the stallion she's been waiting to see.

And when it opened, the pegasus was lost for words.

Out of the door walked what could be considered as the largest stallion in the world. He had a magnificently red coat covering a large portion of his body that stopped at around his ankles where his cream colored hooves where bare to see. His mane was a pleasing color of orange, a little ruffled after work earlier today. He was wearing an obscurely large horse collar around his neck and on his back was, true to Applejack's word, four bags of fertilizer assuming each one was fifteen pounds; a nearly impossible load for one stallion alone. But the most hypnotic feature of Macintosh that the other mares seemed to have neglected going into detail about were his large green eyes. Those eyes…the way they hung under Big Mac's laidback eyelids gave you the impression of a pony who was easy going and harbored no grudge to anything in the world. How powerful yet humble they were, especially if you were to look into them. But such a feat was hard to do with Macintosh, as he rarely looked back into another mare's eye and stared.

…but that was exactly what he was doing now.

"…uh, you two alright?" Applejack asked, seeing her brother and friend stare at each other.

Dash was the first to break away from the stare, shaking her head of the lingering impression of Big Macintosh's features. The stallion himself only had to blink and snap himself out of his own trance, or rather, stare. It was hard to tell what his expression was under that poker face of his.

"Uhh, hey, mister Macintosh," she said, trying to look at the stallion and not fall under another spell.

Macintosh smiled, "Afternoon, miss Rainbow Dash. You can just call me Mac," he said.

He held out his hoof in offer of a hoofshake. Dash looked at it and, momentarily lost, sheepishly took his hoof into her own. But as they shook, Dash found herself to have no control of the shaking. She simply couldn't overtake the muscle in his arm and was powerless to the tempo of the shake. She may as well have gone limp in her arm and the red stallion wouldn't have noticed.

"Uh, heheh, ok then, Mac," she said as their hooves parted.

"What brings you here, then? Is my sister tryin' to introduce all her friends to me?" he asked.

"Nah, Rainbow here was just wantin' to meet'cha, that's all," Applejack explained.

"Pleasure to make yer acquaintance, miss Rainbow," he said.

The pegasus smiled sheepishly and spoke, "Eheheh, just call me Dash. All of my friends call me that."

Applejack tapped a hoof to her chin, "Hold on, none of us ever just called you D-" she couldn't finished, however, as a sharp elbow jab struck her in her side, courtesy of the pegasus trying to put on an impression.

"It was nice meetin' ya, miss Dash, but I hafta return to the farm and put this 'ere fertilizer to work," he said, looking at the heavy bags on his back.

"Oh, uh, sure. Go do your thing, big guy," Rainbow Dash said as she excused herself out of Big Macintosh's path.

Without another word, the stallion headed out the door and on his way back to the farm, but not before he took a quick glance at the pegasus. In that moment, Dash could feel something about him that was different from when she first saw him moments ago. There was something like care in his eyes, like something in his look was special in a way that only he could give. It was a strange feeling, a feeling of admiration and sentiment that no pony else had given her. Like a sort of affectionate look.

…she had no idea what she was thinking about.

Her thoughts were broken as a certain mare wrapped her arm around the pegasus.

"So? What's yer impression of Macintosh now?" she asked aloud.

Rainbow Dash looked at Applejack for a moment before looking back out the door. She normally had something to say for any given moment, but right now, she was lost for words. Any word she knew to describe the stallion she just saw wouldn't do him justice. All she could say about him were thoughts she wasn't willing to divulge on just yet. But at the moment, she was reconsidering what her tastes in stallions were.

"I think…" she started, "…that he's worth looking into."

"Well, he- say what?" she questioned in the middle of a sly line.

Rainbow Dash looked into Applejack's face and said, "I said, I think I'm interested in your brother."


	3. Horseplay

Horseplay

"_What do you mean I shouldn't bother?" the pegasus asked._

"_Ah'm sayin' Big Macintosh ain't worth your time," the cowgirl replied, "Half the mares in town all tried to get Macintosh to open up an' none succeeded. What makes you think you'll do any better?"_

"_Because you forget, I'm Rainbow Dash. I'm not one to give up easily."_

"_Oh, sure. Go ahead an' try, but don't tell him that lest you want him to shut you out forever."_

"_Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"_

"_I'm sayin', Big Macintosh has been approached and handled by every trick there is in the book. As soon as you walk up to him an' say hi, he'll already know what's up."_

_Rainbow Dash scoffed, "Yeah yeah, I wasn't gonna go for a stealthy approach anyway. But just watch, I'll have Macintosh arms over my shoulder by the end of the day."_

_Applejack sighed in defeat. She wasn't going to change her mind and she knew how stubborn Rainbow Dash could be._

"_Fine, but I'll tell you right now, you shouldn't bother him when he's workin'. He keeps a tight schedule an' he doesn't like being distracted."_

"_Heh, sure. Whatever," and with that, the pegasus sped off in the direction of the apple family's farm._

* * *

'This is taking longer than I thought,' the pegasus thought to herself.

Left, right, a zoom forward, and repeat. Dash had been scanning through the field of apple trees looking for the big pony called Macintosh, and for the past hour she had been searching for him. Scan left, scan right, dash forward, and scan again. Still no sign of the big guy. She thought she found him a few times, but every time she descended to meet with him she was disappointed to see that it was a cart full of apples. She was reminded of when she used to fly over this farm and mistake Macintosh for one of these, except she swore those past instances had a clearer image of him than she had now. Why was this more difficult than it needed to be?

Rainbow Dash flew down and landed in front of another cart of apples, one she thought was Big Macintosh again. She sighed, expecting it so, as she thought about giving up today and go look for him tomorrow, when he would be in town. But she was impatient…

She looked at the pile of apples and then thought of her stomach. All that flying and searching drained much of her energy, and a low rumble in her stomach suggested to her that she needed a snack. She looked back at the cart and then took a quick scan over the area at ground level. No one in sight. Surely, the apple family wouldn't mind losing one free apple or two…

She reached a hoof out and grabbed one apple. Bright red, the color was reminiscent of Macintosh… Ah well, thinking made her hungry, and there was a free snack in front of her. She opened her mouth and-

"We don't tolerate stealin' here, miss Rainbow Dash."

-and widened her eyes at the sudden voice behind her.

She quickly turned her head around to meet eye to eye with a huge overshadowing figure. Under his overcast, she could initially make out the glow of green eyes staring her down. Unlike the last time she stared into them, these eyes had the look of displeasure in them, like he was ready to deliver punishment for injustice done. They were scary, to say the least.

"Uh, Mac! Hi!" she said, furiously thinking of an excuse to cover up her stealing an apple from him, "I was just…uh…"

She looked around as she spoke, trying to find some inspiration to an idea for a good believable excuse.

"…just, polishing these apples for you!" she quickly said, looking at Big Macintosh as she gave a large exhale on the apple she was holding, then rubbing it furiously on her chest.

Macintosh blinked once, expression unchanged, until he blinked again and his face shifted to a more forgiving face. He smiled warmly and looked at Rainbow Dash like he would his own sister apologizing for something she did.

"Aw, shoot. If you wanted an apple so badly," he said, clearly the excuse had failed, "all you had to do was ask."

He took an apple from the pile and held it towards the pegasus. It was a much nicer looking apple, much brighter and plumper than the one she randomly chose from the pile. Dash looked at it and then at Macintosh; he was giving her that same look from back at the fertilizer shop.

"This one's free," he said.

Rainbow Dash looked a little lost as she stared back into Macintosh's eyes, to the point where she absent-mindedly dropped the inferior apple she was holding. The sound of the fruit falling snapped her out of her trance with a blink, but she kept her cool enough to not shake her head like the last time their stare broke.

"Th-thanks," the pegasus said, accepting the apple into her hooves.

Macintosh stared at her as she took a bite out of the apple before walking towards the cart full of apples before them.

"So, any reason you been zippin' around this farm?" he spoke up, "Every time I look up, yer up there like yer lookin' fer somethin'."

Dash was half finished with her apple when she looked to Macintosh and swallowed. "Oh, uh…I was looking for…"

She couldn't tell him she was looking for the stallion himself. As Applejack said, if he were to have any clue of her intentions, he'd shut himself tight and she couldn't lose that opportunity. It was Applejack's word, after all, and as the brother of the stallion she was interested in, she was her best lead.

"…Applejack, yeah," she lied, "I, uh, looked for every cart of apples I could find to see if she was nearby."

"Every cart?" Macintosh said, picking an apple off the ground and putting it back into the pile, "There's only one cart out here. I've been busy hauling apples into it."

Rainbow Dash swallowed another piece of apple she had been chewing, then looked at Macintosh, confused. "No, I've been looking all over the farm and…"

She paused and thought to herself. It occurred to her that she may have been flying in circles over the apple field for the past hour or so. Which meant she had been mistaking the same cart of apples for Big Macintosh repeatedly. For an entire hour. She felt so dumb at that moment, she'd pound herself in the face if her hooves weren't full.

"Either way, you've been wasting yer time," the stallion said as he hooked himself in place to haul the cart, "Applejack's still in town. Went to see that Rarity filly for some tear that needed mendin' in her hat."

Seeing Macintosh about to leave, she hurriedly finished her apple in one bite and walked towards him.

"Oh, uh, thanks," she said, mouth slightly full until she swallowed.

She looked at the horse and then at the huge pile of apples he was to tow back to the barn. She'd seen him heave sixty pounds of fertilizer, but some strange thought in her head made her think that he could use some help with this load.

"Hey, need some help there, big guy?" she asked, trotting jovially by his side as he pulled the cart.

Macintosh merely glanced at the pegasus unimpressed before looking back to the path ahead of him.

"Nah. Thanks fer the offer, though," he replied.

Rainbow Dash, however, wasn't one to take no for an answer.

"No, seriously. I can take some of those apples of your hooves," she said.

Macintosh looked back at the pegasus again, but with a smirk on his face, "Sorry, lil filly, but I don't think you can handle even one basket full of apples on your back, and it's a long walk to the barn."

The pegasus started showing her competitive edge, "Is that a challenge? I could haul baskets full of apples all across this farm with ease."

Big Macintosh couldn't help but scoff playfully at her attitude, "A pegasus liftin' an earth pony's work? Unheard of."

Rainbow Dash stared at Mac with an annoyed look on her face. She was used to her prowess being challenged by the likes of Applejack and such, but anyone who knew her well enough knew not to underestimate her as calmly as Macintosh was doing. The pegasus was known to be ready to prove anyone wrong at a moment's notice, and this challenge was no exception. Looking around, she spotted two lone baskets tied to a saddle conveniently located by a tree nearby. She ran towards it and slipped under the saddle with ease, donning the baskets ready to tote apples.

Macintosh watched as she ran back to his side and trotted at his pace.

"Well? Ready to prove me wrong?" she dared.

Macintosh sighed. She was more stubborn than Applejack, he thought.

"Fine, I s'ppose you can help out a little," he said in defeat.

Before Rainbow Dash could boast, the red stallion shifted and jerked the cart behind him, causing an avalanche of apples to fall directly onto Rainbow Dash. As the apples piled high and perfectly in the basket, the pegasus wasn't anticipating the sudden weight gain, being knocked down and forced to her knees at the overwhelming weight. She struggled for a bit, getting her hooves some proper footing, and motivated by not looking weak in front of Big Macintosh. The red stallion watched in mild pity as the pegasus struggled to lift herself up, but just before he was about to sigh, Rainbow Dash got off of the ground and straighten her legs. She looked at him with a smug smile on her face.

"See? Easy peasy," she said.

"Well, I'll be," Macintosh replied, watching the pegasus trot forward in a flaunting manner, "I guess I'm eatin' my words, but I ain't ready to chow down 'til I see you deliver them apples to the barn like you said you would."

Rainbow Dash merely scoffed, "Try me. I've lifted heavier stuff than this. I think your sister would agree."

Macintosh merely smiled, "We'll see."

In truth, Dash was really having trouble keeping her balance under the weight of two baskets of apples. She's lifted heavier stuff than this, true to her word, but for no more than a minute or so. Keeping her balance under the weight of two apple baskets for this length of time was a hard enough feat by itself. However, she was trying her best to keep herself from showing such strains to Macintosh. She wanted to keep up her impression for as long as she could in order to establish a long lasting relationship with him.

She never really thought about why, though. Here she was, toting apples to help ease the workload for an earth pony she just met, but she didn't know why. Maybe she felt sympathetic, maybe she felt generous. She just didn't have an exact reason. Although, if she were to think about it, she was, for the most part, trying to set herself up as a friend to Macintosh before getting any closer. At least, that's what she'd figure.

Besides, she was having a lot of fun here, and she couldn't turn down an opportunity at fun.

A few minutes of silence passed and the barn was closer in sight. Rainbow Dash was doing well in holding back her grunts as she heaved the baskets of apples over her back. Big Macintosh was silently watching her as she trotted onward, amused at the lengths she would go to impress him. He was flattered, to say the least, but he was a little bit more concerned with work and the time spent doing it. Seeing the pegasus tote those apples for him brought him some peace of mind, somehow.

"How am I doing?" she suddenly asked, turning to the stallion next to her.

Macintosh nearly flinched when she looked into his eyes and caught him staring at her, but he played off that feeling by putting on the calm demeanor he was known for.

"I say yer doin' pretty good for a pegasus pony," he said, Dash reacting with a challenging smirk, "but hows about you quit while yer ahead before you strain yerself too hard?"

Dash, honestly, did not like being talked down like this. She hated being underestimated, and she had grown an edge with this mindset over the past years of her life. Kindergarten, Elementary, High School, similar interactions with other foals had carried out this way, with variable results of calamity. But the way Big Macintosh kept telling her how she wouldn't be able to pull her load of work was different than when other ponies challenged her. When Applejack or Trixie had done it, she was always in their faces, ready to throw down on a whim. But with Macintosh, there was a hidden tone of sincerity in his voice, like he didn't want her to get hurt. But there was also a hint of daring in the way he spoke to her, like he wanted to see for himself that she could prove him wrong.

It was a strange feeling. It was different from anything else she felt. Was it friendship? No, this felt different from friendship. It felt…deeper.

…once again, she had no idea what she was thinking about.

"I'm not a quitter, Mac," she said to the red stallion, "I'm gonna get these apples to that barn, I might even go back and fetch two more baskets."

"Sure you can handle even a few more yards?" Macintosh asked.

"Easy peasy," she replied.

At this, she began to pick up her pace, cutting ahead of Macintosh by a few inches. Mac was a little surprised to see that she had the energy to move faster than she was trotting at, but soon replaced his minor shock with a warm smile.

Playfully, he began to pick up his pace as well, Dash not noticing. It wasn't until he was a few inches further that she noticed the stallion moving faster than her. It was Dash's turn to smile slyly now, as she decided to catch up and maintain a faster pace than him. This process was repeated a few times, Macintosh moving from a walk to a trot and Dash going from a trot to a jog. Macintosh was still faster, his legs providing longer strides for him, but she couldn't walk any faster than this without breaking into a run. But she was determined at heart, and she was willing to turn this pace match into a race if she wanted to.

Which she decided to do.

"Race ya there!" she shouted unexpectedly, going into full gallop and speeding ahead of Macintosh.

It took Macintosh a moment to process Dash's words, but no sooner did he decide to go along with her idea, taking a big breathe before forwarding into a gallop in chase.

Dash turned back her head to see how far back Macintosh was. But to her surprise, he wasn't that far behind. In fact, he was close, and gaining speed.

'Whoa! How strong is this guy?' she thought as he had already caught up to her position but still had the speed to go faster.

The red stallion took a quick glance at her as he slowly sped by. It was the kind of look you'd give another person if you had drawn the winning card or they knew they were going to beat you. Dash knew this look very well; she gave it to other ponies all the time. Being on the other end of it was something she wasn't used to, but she liked it for some reason, especially if it was by a respectable pony like Big Macintosh.

Rainbow Dash could feel her adrenaline rushing, heaving two basketfuls of apples and racing a pony twice her weight. She was reminded of the time she raced Applejack in the Running of the Leaves, except she was under a similar handicap, where she couldn't fly because her wings were tied up until the end of the race. Now, it's a similar situation as she's holding two baskets of apples that would make it very difficult to fly under their weight. Not to mention, the saddle was restricting her wings from movement. On the other hand, her opponent was a stallion towing a full cart of apples and she doubted he was used to running, so it seemed pretty fair for the two of them.

Pushing herself harder, she overtook Big Macintosh by an inch. She could hear him scoff a little as the sounds of his hooves grew more rapid. Rainbow Dash simply pushed harder, and Macintosh would repeat. They were neck and neck, running as fast as they could under their weight, and the barn was closer in sight than ever.

Until, Macintosh saw something up ahead.

"Stop!" he quickly shouted, putting the brake on his hooves and pushing against the cart behind him.

Rainbow Dash, however, looked back at Macintosh in confusion, wondering why the stallion halted all of a sudden. She didn't stop running though, but seeing Macintosh skidding on the dirt made her think she should stop as well. At her speed and the weight she was toting, however, it was very difficult to stop running. Dash felt her hooves dip into some wet substance on the ground, a consistency similar to mud. The pegasus soon figured out why Macintosh had told her to stop.

As hard as she could, she pressed her hooves into the ground to brake, but the mud on the ground gave in to her resistance. The momentum from her speed and all that weight she was carrying slung her across the pool of mud. The pegasus found herself sliding into the direction of an open barn door and she was helpless to an impending crash. She'd have flown away to avoid collision, but the saddle on her back constricted her wings; she couldn't even budge them open. She braced herself as she shut her eyes and awaited the all too familiar feeling of pain and all too familiar of something breaking.

CRASH!

Macintosh quickly undid the reigns hooked to his horse collar and jogged towards the cabin. He avoided the mysterious mud puddle and made his way through the barn door to see the results of the crash. There lay Rainbow Dash, apples strewn on the floor everywhere, the baskets thrown into a corner beside her, and farming tools piled on top of her. Stars spun in a dance around her head as she was trying to regain her vision. She shook her head and looked around, first seeing Macintosh before her and the trail of mud she slid on before crashing there on the wall.

"Uh, heheh, my bad," she said apologetically.

Before he could say anything, Macintosh noticed a lone rake teetering to a fall in the direction of the pegasus. Before he could say anything, the stick had knocked Rainbow Dash on her head.

"Ow."

* * *

"You sure you don't need help, there?" Macintosh asked.

Dash was now free of the hold the mess had on her. She was still a little dazed and her forelegs ached a little, but Macintosh was kind enough to help her up and get most of the dirt off of her person. The pegasus shook her head to alleviate her dizziness to a degree, but found herself still teetering in her steps.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she answered.

She took a step forward and- gah!

'Ow! My ankle!'

The pegasus looked down at her left hoof and pressed it lightly on the floor. Instantly, a numbing pain seared through her ankle, causing her to retract her leg.

'I think I sprained it…' she thought to herself.

"You don't look okay," Macintosh said as he inched closer to the pegasus.

"No, no. I'm fine, real-GAH!"

That shout was all Macintosh needed to hear.

"That doesn't sound fine. Let me help you."

Before Dash could protest, Macintosh ducked under her body and lifted her up with his neck, carrying her so that she wouldn't have to strain herself walking. Rainbow Dash was taken by surprise at this and thought the notion sweet, even if the pegs on his horse collar were jabbing into her ribs; she didn't complain.

"I'll help you out of here and to the doctor," he said, looking back to see the pegasus, "Best get that leg looked at."

Dash looked into Mac's face, momentarily admiring his kind hearted gesture, but donned a worried face.

"No, no. I'm the one who crashed into your barn," she said, "besides, my wings still work. I can just fly there."

"You sure you didn't injure a wing, now?"

Rainbow Dash lifted one wing, stretching it upwards, before folding it and stretching the other. Then, both wings were raised and then lowered to point outwards, lining up horizontally and stretching. This was a portion of a stretching exercise she learned in Flyer's School and practically knew the routine by heart. Not feeling anything wrong from the usual, she could confirm that her wings were functional and undamaged, and also capable of carrying her to a physician.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I can make it to the nurse's office from here," she stated, "But I don't think it's serious."

"Now come on, miss Dash. As my Pa always said, 'better safe than sorry'," he said, looking into Dash's face being serious but also somehow caring, "Just promise me you'll see the nurse, alright?"

Dash looked back into Macintosh's captivating green eyes. That stare, it was a lot like the one he gave her back at the fertilizer shop, except there was a little hint of worry in them. They were like the eyes of a person who couldn't help but worry, who only had her well being and health in her best interest. It was a comforting look. Dash couldn't help but stare off into them again.

Somehow, she was reminded of her mother…

"…alright. I'll see the nurse," Rainbow Dash gave in.

Macintosh smiled warmly at this. "I'm glad to hear that."

* * *

"…you know they used to call me Rainbow Crash?"

"What in tarnation?"

Both Macintosh and Rainbow Dash's conversation was interrupted by the surprised exclamation of a mare in a cowboy hat. She had a perfectly mixed reaction of astonishment and confusion, which was justified as she didn't expect to see her friend on top of her brother, walking out of the barn, and the both of them looking rather dirty.

…and not in that context.

"Applejack," Big Macintosh exclaimed in a low tone but still sounded like a surprise, "Uh, I was wonderin' what was takin' you so long…"

Applejack said nothing as she stared at the two of them. Dash, still balanced on the stallion's back, could feel Applejack's stare aiming at her. She wouldn't blame her for it, as the present image of her and Macintosh was an odd one to process.

"Uh, hey Applejack," she said, trying to hide her tone, "Did you get a new hat?"

Applejack finally responded by shaking her head and glaring at the two of them.

"What were you two doin' in that barn?" she got straight to her questions, "Would it have somethin' to do wit' that crash I heard a few moments ago?"

Macintosh didn't say anything, lowering his head at a loss as to how to explain himself to his sister. Dash, feeling guilty, spoke up as she rose her hoof.

"Uh, that might have been my fault…" she said uneasily.

Applejack looked at the pegasus with a raised brow before it occurred to her that she should've expected this. A loud crash and the existence of Rainbow Dash were usually affiliated. She brought a hoof to her face and shook her head mildly, disappointed in her friend. But her distress didn't end there as there was another problem to address.

"And Macintosh," she said, bringing Macintosh's head back up, "care to explain that?"

She pointed her arm into the orchard to a trail of apples leading to the cart Macintosh was towing. As Macintosh added up the visuals, he realized that he had dropped those apples from the cart as he raced the pegasus to the barn. He groaned tiredly; he rarely messed up work and he knew he was going to have to fix it or make up for it.

"Ah'm sorry, sis. I guess I didn't see what I was doing…" he apologized.

Applejack only groaned and looked at Macintosh sternly. She knew Macintosh was a hard worker, but she thought he knew better than to mess up like this. She looked to Rainbow Dash, lifting herself off of the stallion with her wings aflutter, and figured she had something to do with all this. Macintosh screwing up at the same time he was with Rainbow Dash? Too coincidental.

"Go pick up them apples in the orchard and clean up the mess you guys made in the barn," she commanded, "Rainbow Dash, I'd like to speak with you, in private."

Macintosh sadly walked away to get started on his extra work. Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to try to say something, but couldn't think of anything to make the situation any better. Before the pegasus could turn away in disappointment, Macintosh turned his head back and said,

"Ah'm sorry."

Rainbow Dash felt sorry for causing trouble for Macintosh. She usually didn't think about the consequences of her actions, but she had never felt sorry for another pony like this. She's felt worse than this before for others, but that was with friends who could recover or forgive her easily. As this was Big Macintosh, he only had a little extra work to be done. He could handle it. He's a hard worker, like Applejack said.

But she still felt guilty. It was her fault that Mac had more work to do, even if marginal.

Why did it feel different with him?

"Rainbow. Talk. Now," Applejack said as she pushed the pegasus away from the barn.

Rainbow Dash couldn't say anything to object. The earth pony pushed her, the pegasus having to hop to avoid pressing on her sprained ankle, until they were out of earshot of the red stallion.

"Jeez, Applejack. No need to be all pushy," the pegasus said, annoyed.

"First, yer gonna tell me what happened between you and Macintosh," Applejack began, ignoring Rainbow Dash's previous comment, "What exactly were the two of you doin'?"

Dash looked, annoyingly, at Applejack as if she was insinuating something. She walked to a nearby hay block to sit on and ease the stress on her ankle.

"Well, I was just helping Macintosh take the apples back to the barn, and then-"

"Wait," Applejack interrupted, "You helped Macintosh?"

"Yeah?" Rainbow Dash looked at Applejack, further annoyed that she interrupted her, "So what?"

The cowgirl was skeptic, "Macintosh never let any pony help him work, much less a filly," she said as she scratched the hair by her ear.

"Oh really?" Dash said with a smirk, "He personally gave me two baskets of apples to haul to the barn. You can ask him for proof."

Applejack hummed.

"Okay…so, what were you two doin' in the barn then?" she asked.

"Oh, I slipped on some mud…" Rainbow Dash admitted, looking away in embarrassment.

"And you landed in the barn?"

"Yeah. What was with that big puddle of mud anyway?" she asked, remembering her sliding and crashing.

"Oh, Applebloom must've bathed Winona this afternoon like I told her to," Applejack explained, "She probably dragged on the washin' and rinsin'. Silly filly…"

"Why are you asking me all these questions?" the pegasus asked, frustrated.

"Because I'm tryin' to understand what is it with you and Macintosh. He's our best worker and we can't have him slippin' up if yer around."

"Hold up," Rainbow Dash didn't like where this was going, "What are you trying to say?"

Applejack sighed, "Look. I don't know how you did it, but you seemed to have grabbed Macintosh's interest. At first, I thought it was cute, but if it's gonna get in the way of Macintosh's work, I can't have you around him. I'm afraid yer gonna have to give him his workin' space."

"Wait. Are you saying I can't hang out with your brother?" Dash questioned.

Applejack didn't like this either, but she had to take responsibilities.

"No. I'm sayin' you can't see him anymore."


	4. Blessings  a special message

Hello everyone. It has been such a long time hasn't it?

I know what you're feeling like right now. You're excited that this story finally got updated. You're excited to finally see this interesting story continue. But I bet you're confused as to why the status of the story is Complete. No, this isn't the final chapter of the story, I'm sorry about that.

I'm even more sorry to say that, unfortunately, this story has been cancelled outright.

I deeply apologize for this travesty. I understand so many of you had been looking forward to the continuation of this fic, and I feel even worse for letting you all down. However, I blame myself for doing this, because well after the third chapter, motivation for this story had dwindled to nothing. I tried my best to continue the story with the resolve to give the readers what they want, but I found the original plot of the story to be too surreal to work around with. As it had already gone too far in to fix, the only thing I could do to continue it was to discontinue this story. I am deeply sorry to know that you have all been disappointed.

But wait. I did say I discontinued this story to write it again. That means exactly what it means. I'm rewriting this story. I'm starting it from scratch.

Some of you are shrugging your lips in disbelief, but I assure you this is no empty promise. I care too much about this story to abandon it, so I am reworking it to have a better plot and writing style than before. I care too much about my faithful readers to abandon this story, though some of you are laughing at the irony of this action, cancelling this story because I care about my fans. Well, this is more for myself, as I cannot bring myself to write this story any further as it is now, so the only way to keep it going was to start anew.

So, now that you know about the rewrite, let's talk about it.

The rewrite will be under a new title. It will be named 'Change of Pace' and it will be published onto Fimfiction first before hitting .

The new story will borrow certain planned elements from His Name Is Mac, so no. I am not about to reveal the original plot here. I will, however, reveal a few things. Applejack forbidding Rainbow Dash from seeing Macintosh will be scrapped from the script. Macintosh and Dash will have more screen time together than planned. I will be going more in depth into the universe, my fan perceived universe anyway, of Equestria, so expect some headcanons to pop up. And lastly, Dash will take part in a Mission Impossible styled chapter. Oh, and more Derpy shenanigans.

I feel that this isn't enough to sustain you all for the wait of the eventual, hopefully, publication of Change of Pace. I think you will be delighted to know that I have already started writing the first few chapters of the story. I am stockpiling my work so that when it is published, finally, you will have a steady, promising, update schedule to follow. This way, I don't disappoint anyone, hopefully.

Two more things to drop here before I go. I will be leaving for you a sneak peek of Change of Pace to read, and I will also include what has been written of the original 4th chapter of His Name is Mac. Yes, this would explain that long sidebar to your right, or left if that is your configuration. I know that is a lot, even more than the last chapter. There was a lot of detail put into what writing I could produce in this chapter. But alas, it will never be completed, keep that in mind.

So, no more time to waste. Here's a sneak peek at Change of Pace. This section of the story has yet to be written, so certain pieces will be different or changed completely. The idea will be the same however.

Enjoy.

…

"It really ain't fair how yer treatin' Rainbow Dash like," she heard a familiar voice say.

"What does it matter if Ah don't like somepony?" That voice was Macintosh.

"It matters 'cause it ain't like yah. You're the most open minded pony I know, and I'd thought you'd be the type to tolerate Rainbow of all ponies."

The mare scowled a bit at this. She hated hearing how unbearable she could be, but it irritated her even further how ponies focus on that aspect of her. She was dependable, she was trustworthy. She wasn't the Element of Loyalty for no reason. That didn't mean she wasn't allowed to be upset with others when they failed to realize this.

And she thought Mac would've understood that.

"AJ, you know her more than anypony else does. Can you honestly say that we'd make good company?"

"As the Element of Honesty, I can say that it wouldn't hurt to try," she found it amusing when ponies presented irrefutable facts in arguments, an ability she envied, "Big Macintosh, she just wants to be your friend, and I don't get how you can be so harsh in turnin' her away like that."

Dash heard a silent groan, then silence. She would've left knowing that Macintosh was stubbornly uninterested in befriending her, but she stayed. What she was really curious to know was why he was resentful to making friends with her.

"I'm not…" Big Macintosh started, "…ready for friends yet…"

Dash thought that was a very stupid reason, but she found it even weirder that AJ took longer to reply.

"Is it…about her?" she said.

"Can we just drop it?" Macintosh quickly replied, "You an' I both know whose fault it was."

"Oh for the love of…Macintosh, that was years ago! You've really got to move on!"

…

And now, the original chapter 4. Enjoy.

* * *

The air was laced with a cool fog. The cold temperatures wrought by night encouraged the chilly weather to manifest as a thin veil of moisture in the air. Like a sea of fog, it hung low to the ground, drenching the grass below in crisp dew. The ponies in the resident village nearby were soundly asleep, kept warm by the walls of their abodes. Animals slept peacefully in their burrows and nests, enduring the cold by sharing body heat with their families. It was unnervingly quiet, save for the chirps of wild crickets; unnerving in the sense that if you were the only person awake at this hour, you'd grow paranoid that there might be someone stalking you as you walk the empty streets.

But for anyone with such a fear, there was nothing more relieving than the sight of the morning sun rising over the horizon.

Roosters crowed in response to the rising sun as the villagers reacted to the first rays of daylight. The warm light vanquished the crisp fog as animals began to stir from the absence of cold. As the sun rose higher into the sky, the resident ponies began to awaken and activity in PonyVille would soon commence.

High in the sky, by the outskirts of PonyVille, floated a magnificent mansion made of clouds. The design was similar to the houses as seen in CloudsDale, as the pegasus who took residence here hailed from that city. Beaming into the house was a rainbow, as enigmatic as it was fitting for the owner of the house, that condensed into a liquid waterfall as it arched around the building. Columns of solid cloud supported the roof and ceiling of the house, even though they had little strength. Like the buildings in CloudsDale, the columns were mostly an architecture design, as they served no other purpose other than maybe anchoring clouds together.

The twilight sky disappeared as the morning sun rose into the heavens. The warm light soon reached the cloud house and shone through the gaps in the walls. Inside, the rainbow maned pegasus began to stir from her slumber as the sunlight warmed her room, urging her to awaken. Groaning for a bit, the winged mare slowly came to, opening her eyes as she took a moment to assess herself in the conscious world.

Groggily, Rainbow Dash rubbed her eyes and yawned. Usually, she would jump out of bed and commence with her morning activities, but this particular morning, she was feeling less than super.

'Man, I'm still so tired…' she thought to herself, unable to work up the resolve to leave her cloud mattress, 'probably from all that work yesterday…'

The mare was usually against sleeping in, since she knew how important her morning rituals were to her. However, her body ached with fatigue and her mind was still dizzy, so she ultimately decided to stay asleep for a little while longer.

'What's a few more hours gonna do to me anyway?' she thought, stretching her body to limber it up from last night's-

Twitch.

"Ow!" Dash uttered, recoiling her limbs from the unexpected pain.

The pegasus reached over her shoulder to rub her back where the twitch happened. There was a minor but noticeable ache in her muscle that annoyed her. Rainbow Dash groaned; she was not looking forward to dealing with a muscle ache for the rest of her day. She hated muscle aches. She got them frequently during her early days of flying from frequent crashes into trees and buildings. She remembered keeping herself from moving to not strain the aches, and she loved moving! She was beginning to regret ever helping Mac haul the apples back to the barn.

Mac…

…

Stupid Applejack.

Rainbow Dash huffed. She didn't want to think about yesterday. She pulled some cloud from her mattress and covered her head in it, trying to forget all of yesterday's talk with Applejack. Who was she to tell her that she couldn't see Big Macintosh anymore? Besides, it's not like she was trying to achieve anything…

Actually, she was. She was trying to get closer to him. But she never figured out why…

Humph! No more thinking, Rainbow Dash thought.

The pegasus flipped herself on her back to relax more, bringing the cloud pillow onto her chest. The previous ache from on her shoulder suddenly seemed to spread to all over her back, making the pony uncomfortable in her new position. Rainbow Dash groaned and shifted to her left, tucking her pillow between her arms. Now the aches were on her other shoulder and paining her more than they were on the other side. She groaned again, shifting herself to the sleeping position she awoke in while laying her cloud pillow under her head. But even in this position, the numbing aches in her back refused to recede. No matter what position she tried, the pain simply would not subside.

'Oh, come on!' the pegasus thought to herself.

Sighing in defeat, Rainbow Dash decided not to sleep in after all. She stood up from her bed, enduring the ringing pain in her back, and made her way towards the bathroom to freshen up.

'Might as well take a shower for this- Gah!'

As she made her way off of the mattress, an unexpected twitch in her left leg interrupted her step, causing her to tumble and fall onto the floor.

…which did not hurt as the floor was made of clouds, cushioning any actual pain from falling on a hard floor.

"Fffff…ow…" Rainbow Dash uttered, the aches in her back ringing all over.

This was going to be a long day.

…

The door chimed with a rhythmic knocking.

Rainbow Dash perked her head up from the sink, her hair dripping with water. This is strange, she usually never got visitors in the morning. She couldn't imagine any of her friends wanting her business this early in the day, especially the ones who could fly.

The door continued to knock. Rainbow Dash heaved a sigh as she shut off the sink and made her way to the door, shouting "Coming!" as she walked into her living room. It was a painful trek from the bathroom, having to deal with her backache as badly as she had it. She hoped it wasn't anything important, like a favor or a job to do as her aches would surely inhibit such tasks. She wasn't in the mood for any jobs today, anyway.

The door opened, revealing a lone pegasus sitting there looking enthusiastically at a box in her hooves. She was a gray coated pegasus pony with a blonde mane combed like Rainbow Dash's. There was a satchel around her shoulders full of envelopes and boxes to be delivered to other ponies and her cutie mark was of bubbles. Rainbow Dash knew who this fellow pegasi was, but it didn't register until her left eye independently scrolled up at her.

'Yikes!' she thought as she recoiled from the sight.

It was Ditzy Doo, the notorious wall eyed pegasus pony who delivered mail to others.

'I hate it when she does that,' Rainbow Dash thought as Ditzy Doo tilted her head up.

The pegasus smiled as she held out the box towards the rainbow maned one, "Mail for you!" she exclaimed. Dash was a little reluctant to accept mail from Ditzy Doo, as there were usually traces of drool on her letters, but she had never received a box before. It made her a little excited.

"Um, thanks Ditzy Doo," Rainbow Dash said as she took the box from her hooves.

"This one smells really good!" the mare said as she slid her hooves on each other, "I tried really hard not to eat it."

Dash took a quick whiff of the box. She wasn't kidding. It smelt really good.

"Well, thanks for not eating it then," Dash congratulated.

"Anytime! A mailmare's work is never done!" The pegasus smiled gratefully as she saluted her with her hoof. Then, she turned around and returned to her job of delivering mail, jumping off of the cloud as if it were a diving board. Rainbow Dash watched as the mail pony flew away upside down, shaking her head in thought to the flyer.

"I'll never understand her…" she said, turning around back into her home and shutting the door.

Dash set down the box on her table and looked at it. The first thing she noticed about it was that the sender was signed 'Applejack'. The pegasus huffed lightly. She contemplated not opening the box because of this, considering yesterday's argument, but whatever was in the box flared her nostrils with a sweet scent. It smelled like the inside of Sugar Cube Corner whenever she visited Pinkie Pie, and it made her stomach rumble, pining for breakfast. Whatever was in the box was just begging to be eaten. Swallowing her dignity, Rainbow Dash opened the parcel.

The contents were a freshly baked apple danish on a paper plate, and under it was a note, an apology from Applejack. After she was halfway done with the apple danish, sticky hooves making for a tricky opening, Rainbow Dash unfolded the note and began to read it.

_Dear Rainbow Dash_

_I'm mighty sorry about what I said yesterday. It was wrong of me to try to keep you away from Macintosh. You know how he's our best worker and all, and I was just doing my job as the boss of Sweet Apple Acres. So I'm gonna have to ask you to forgive me when I say that I couldn't convince Macintosh to change his work schedule._

Rainbow Dash frowned at this, but kept reading.

_I tried to talk to him about how he works too hard and how he needed to take a break every once in a while, but he wouldn't give in to my offer. He said that it was his responsibility as the best worker of Sweet Apple Acres and the business couldn't afford him taking such a long break. He wouldn't change his mind._

Dash huffed a little. Couldn't she have at least mentioned her, she thought.

_Look Rainbow Dash, I know you like him and all, but I think it's for the best that you two stop seeing each other._

She widened her eyes as she read this. She did not like where this was going.

_I told Macintosh about you, about how I'd give him a break every now and then just so that you two could hang out. But even then, Macintosh denied. He says that he can't be distracted from work and that he doesn't want to repeat yesterday's mishap. _

The pegasus was heartbroken as she read this. She wanted to stop reading from there, but a little bit of her hope shone on that urged her to finish.

_Don't worry, though. Macintosh says that he enjoyed your company, but the way things are, he can't risk anything interfering with his work. It's not like he'd get fired or anything, but being the only worker on the farm, the business can't fall behind on its productions. It's not you, he's only doing this for the farm…_

Rainbow Dash was somewhat relieved at this. Although, she was mildly irritated at how one simple accident on her part could jeopardize the entirety of Sweet Apple Acres. Then again, the only ponies she's ever seen work on the farm were Applejack and Big Macintosh…

_It's best to forget about Big Macintosh, Rainbow Dash. The reason no other mare in town has been able to get his attention is because he turns them down in favor of work. He knows how important his contribution to the business is, and he can't let another mare interfere. Sorry, Rainbow Dash. I made you an apple danish so that you don't feel sad._

Rainbow Dash sighed as she finished reading the letter. She understood why Macintosh took his work seriously now, seeing as he was the only one who worked for the Apple Family. She also understood why Applejack told her she couldn't see him anymore, she was just doing her job. But she still felt upset at the letter, almost like she was a distraction to the farmers. It certainly felt like it, but she couldn't help but feel a little cheated…

Looking over some parts of the letter, Rainbow Dash reflected on her and Applejack's argument from yesterday…

…

"_Say WHAT?" Rainbow Dash shouted._

"_You can't see 'im anymore!" Applejack repeated._

"_That is the biggest load of horse apples I've ever heard! It's not fair!"_

"_Listen here, Rainbow Dash, I-"_

"_No you listen to me, Applejack!" the pegasus interjected, "How can you honestly say that me and Macintosh are a bad thing, huh?"_

"_Well, I-"_

"_As a matter of fact, I actually enjoyed his company, and he enjoyed mine. So what right do you have to say that I'm not allowed to see him anymore?"_

"_I was about to-"_

"_And what makes you think you're right and I'm wrong? Sounds a little jerkish if you asked me!"_

"_If you'd just let me-"_

"_Cut Macintosh some slack! He's done nothing wrong before so why should now be any different? And what does it have to do with me being around-"_

"_BE QUIET!"_

_The two sat there in silence after Applejack's loud interjection. The argument was rising to the boiling point until finally the earth pony exploded. There was no sound in the air, no birds chirping nor any leaves rustling from the wind. It was an uncomfortable silence that permeated the air, a deathly noiselessness that you wanted to go away. Neither pony could break the silence, not until the air around them softened up and calmed down. And when it finally did, the orange pony spoke first._

"_Look, Rainbow Dash…" she started, "if you want to know the truth, I'm gonna have to share wit' ya family secret."_

"…_what is it?" Dash responded._

"_The thing is, Macintosh is supposed to be the one running the farm, not me."_

"_Wait, huh?" Dash was a little surprised, "I thought he was already running the place?"_

"_Not exactly. See, I'm the boss around here, and Macintosh is our loyal worker. He was actually supposed to be next in line to run Sweet Apple Acres, but after…an incident, he gave me the title instead."_

"_You mean Macintosh was actually in charge of the place before?" Dash asked._

"_Yup. He was doing a pretty good job of it too, but then he thought of himself unfit to lead Sweet Apple Acres, so he passed on the title to me."_

"_So, what exactly happened that made him give up being the boss?"_

_Applejack looked down in memory of the event years ago. It wasn't a fond one, but it wasn't a memory she'd revisit either. At best, it was confidential between her and Big Macintosh._

"_I can't say. I gave my word."_

_Rainbow Dash was silent._

"_But there's one thing I can tell you," Rainbow Dash perked up at this, "It's that Big Macintosh swore himself to work for Sweet Apple Acres under my rule, and he trusted me with being an honest and competent leader of our family business. So when Big Macintosh started messing up around you…"_

"…_you were just doing your job…" the rainbow pegasus finished._

"_Exactly. If I had it my way, I'd have gone easier on him, but Big Macintosh knows better than to horse around work. And besides, he wouldn't want me being easy on any worker. I gave him my word…"_

_The pegasus sighed. At least now she understood better about how Applejack had to work the farm. And not to mention, Macintosh had stepped down from leading the family business and put Applejack in charge. Whatever made him quit, he trusted his sister to run Sweet Apple Acres and she had to remain vigilant in being the boss of their business._

_But still…_

"…_that doesn't give you any right to keep me from seeing Macintosh, though," Rainbow Dash exclaimed._

_Applejack sighed, "Look Rainbow Dash, it's for the good of the farm."_

"_What's that supposed to mean?" the pegasus asked._

"_He's our only employee here at the farm, and he takes all the responsibilities of being the single worker. I'm just doing my job as the boss by looking out for my workers."_

"_And you want me to leave him alone?" Dash questioned, "That's pretty unfair, if you ask me."_

"_Dash, I'm trying my best not to put any blame on you, because you're my friend," Applejack proclaimed, "But the thing is, Macintosh had never messed up work before, especially around another filly."_

_The pegasus was about to speak against the earth pony, until it dawned on her what Applejack was trying to say._

"_Wait, what do you mean?"_

_Applejack sighed, "You did something no other mare has been able to do. You got his attention, and I'd be lying if I said I think he's not that interested in you."_

_Dash looked down in thought, thinking about the red stallion and how he acted around her. Did he really like her? What did he think of her? But more importantly, did she like him?_

"…_so, you can't give him a break?" Dash asked._

_Applejack shook her head. "No can do, Dash. Macintosh works sixteen hours a day, and that's his own schedule he made for himself. He only takes about ten minutes off for lunch before he's back to working. That's why he's our best worker."_

_Rainbow Dash sighed. The way the stallion worked, it's insane how he deals with working nonstop for a living. And all of it was his choice. He chose to work for that long, to take short breaks, and he trusts Applejack to run him like a work horse, not that he already isn't. It's a wonder how he finds any joy in his life. _

_But it's his life, and he seemed set on it staying that way._

"…_I get it…" Dash uttered._

_The earth pony sighed, "I'm sorry it has to be this way, Dash, but you know Macintosh won't want me being easy on him."_

"…"

_Applejack was now beginning to feel sorry for Rainbow Dash. The flyer's intentions weren't exactly honest from the beginning, but as it went on, she and Macintosh had grown a bond like no other. It almost hurt the earth mare seeing the two forced apart like this._

"…_tell you what," Applejack started, "I'll talk with Big Macintosh about making space in his schedule, give him some time off."_

_At this, Rainbow Dash donned a hopeful face, "Really?"_

"_Mhm, I can pull some strings for you and him, but you gotta be sure to be around when he's on his new break, otherwise he's just wasting time."_

_The pegasus nodded enthusiastically, "Of course! I'll come by every now and then to check up on him, and you as well."_

_Applejack chuckled, "Well, alright then. It's about time for me to check up on Macintosh and see how he's holding up."_

"_Alright. So, I'll come by tomorrow to see how things are," Dash said, wings open ready to take off._

"_Oh, and uh, one more thing."_

_Dash was halfway into the sky when the earthbound pony spoke up._

"_There's something I never understood yesterday," she said, tapping her chin with her hoof, "I don't recall saying your full name to Macintosh before. How'd he already know it?"_

_Dash pondered this too. Only now did it occur to her that the red stallion had already known her name before they met. She just thought Applejack had already told him._

"_Umm, maybe he heard about me after the Sonic Rainboom at the CloudsDale Stadium," Dash explained, "Everyone was talking about it when we got home."_

_Applejack pondered a little more before deciding that explanation was the most plausible one._

"_Yeah, I guess so."_

"_So, I'll see you around then."_

"_Alright, be seein' ya."_

…

The pegasus licked the sweet glaze off of her hooves. It was a very tasty way to start her day, especially considering she usually skipped breakfast if she was late for her morning shifts. But living in a cloud house without a thundercloud to power a fridge or any electrical device, she usually got her breakfast by nabbing an apple or a muffin from the Sugar Cube Corner in PonyVille. She's never had a breakfast as good as this one. She'd have to thank Applejack later.

As she thought of Applejack, she thought of Big Macintosh. The red stallion, previously absent from her memory, was now hard to forget, especially the way he looked at her. Those green eyes, gazing back at her…

Rainbow Dash shook her head. Maybe Applejack was right, she thought. Maybe she was better off minding her own business and forgetting about the farmer. He had his life on the ground, and she had her life in the air. They probably wouldn't have worked out a stable relationship anyways.

But forgetting Macintosh was a difficult thing to do.

She sighed, 'I might as well go practice my tricks.'

The pegasus left the kitchen, opened parcel and note left behind, in hopes of keeping her mind off of the farmer stallion.

…

Rainbow Dash observed the ground below her from her cloud house. She could see the thin dirt road leading to Ponyville mildly blurry from a mile's distance. She smirked as she mapped out her morning routine in her head, looking forward to the double barrel roll and the dive bomb. She took a deep breath and stepped back. Flying was the perfect way to clear her mind when things were troubling her, and it had never failed her before. In fact, she was so anxious to start, she had already forgotten yesterday's argument.

And then she took off.

The first flight was the warm up, the diving glide. Rainbow Dash sailed downwards and opened her wings, letting the air rush through her feathers and whistle in her ears. She held her limbs out to streamline her body through the air, letting the wind blow all over her. Inhaling the air as she arched upwards, she could feel the sleepy feelings within her corrode away as the air became more familiar to her. The diving glide was always the first trick as it woke up her senses and drove the sleep out of her.

It was way better and more effective than any coffee she ever had.

Next up was the marathon scale. Dash began to flap her wings as hard as she could as the flyer began to rise higher into the sky. The pull of gravity as she rose higher tugged at her body, turning the air thicker as she struggled to flap her wings harder. She could feel her heart pumping harder to supply oxygen to her muscles as her wings strained against the air. Dash didn't like this maneuver as much as the previous one as it was the most strenuous of the rituals. Still, she didn't complain as it was a great cardio workout and it warmed her up.

And lastly came her favorite part of the morning exercise. The free dive.

As if frozen in place, the pegasus ceased flying and floated in the air momentarily, taking in a deep breathe as gravity pulled her back down. As Dash fell, she straightened herself downward and opened her wings again, letting the wind cool her down from the cardio exercise. Rested, she twisted her body and began gliding in a different direction. Twisting again, she turned the freefall into a downward spiral as the world before her spun. The pegasus tightened the turn and sharpened the spiral until she was barrel rolling straight down. Hooves held outward, the air started to harden and create a visible barrier before her as she reached maximum velocity.

She wasn't going to pull off another Sonic Rainboom, although that would have been awesome, doing one every morning of the week…

No. Instead, as hard as she could, Rainbow Dash pulled and turned upwards again, maintaining the air barrier before her. Amazingly, the mare was not slowing down from the air resistance, and zipped around the air at the same speed she had been falling at. The Air Barrier, a special technique only skilled pegasi were capable of, had shielded her from air resistance and created a thick veil of air before her. She was like a speeding missile, and could hit like one too if she wanted to, capable of bowling through houses unscathed. Thankfully, her practice took place outside of Ponyville where there was only open space to fly around in.

Right now, it was just her and the sky, just the way she loved it.

Rainbow Dash took a deep breathe, taking in the adrenaline coursing through her body. She gave a satisfied huff as she let the wind comb over her body. Freedom. This is why she loved flying. It was the personification of the very idea. Freedom to fly to wherever she wanted, however she wanted. It wasn't just a part of her life. It was a part of her soul. Her defining appreciation for anything in the world. And she didn't want to lose it anytime soon.

The mare zipped across the sky freely, performing different kinds of tricks as her mane streaked the sky. Barrel rolls, somersaults, tunnel loops, some of the most basic tricks in the book. She wasn't performing harder ones because this was supposed to be a morning exercise. But she could easily try if she felt daring.

It tended to happen a lot.

Just as Rainbow Dash had flown low enough to the ground to make out the branches under the trees, a light bulb lit up in her head. She looked at the trees and smirked a little. They were starting to look like danger cones to her. But at her speed, running behind an air barrier, it was a very risky and dangerous move to pull. But circumstances like that always made Dash want to try them even more.

Winding up, Dash ascended into the air, folded her wings into a descent, and bolted towards the trees for a little maneuver practice.

At least, she would have, if her wings hadn't locked up all of a sudden.

"Ahh! What the?"Dash shouted as she looked back at her wings, cramping up all of a sudden. Her left wing was stuck half folded while the other was open, trying to catch the wind the other wing was losing. She tried to stretched it back out, but like a metal spring the wing retracted and refused to cooperate. She could feel the muscles behind the wing aching loudly, her lower back tingling with pain.

And what an inconvenient time it was for her wings to give out, one would say. The air barrier before Dash had withered away, she was losing altitude, and those trees could only grow so big before ultimately colliding with them. Despite her best efforts to remain airborne or, at least, land safely, the pegasi was unable to steer properly and managed to delay her crash landing for a few seconds until she got better acquainted with the one pine tree within a hundred yards.

THWACK!

Dazed, aching, and a pinecone in her mouth, the pegasus groaned before coming to, shaking her head and spitting out the unwelcomed object in her mouth. There she lay, covered in pine needles and tree sap, in the branches of one of the most painful trees you could crash into, and it wasn't her fault this time. She groaned, looking back to her previously troubled wing to find that it had gotten over the ache and laid flaccid on the pine needles. She lifted it up and down, testing it for the source of the pain. Nothing unusual, she felt as she moved it around. Then she rotated them forwards and backwards. She winced. There was the problem.

'Just great,' the mare thought as she stood on the branches and shook herself the best she could of the pine needles and sap. Dash groaned again as she could feel her muscles tingling with annoyance. She thought she had cured her aches from the morning and was looking forward to flying more in the day, but apparently she only made them temporary, as she could feel the aches returning to her body. Just when she thought she had her problems solved, she had to go and crash into a pine tree. Brilliant.

She was beginning to regret ever talking to Macintosh.

"Rainbow Dash? Is that you?"

Before she could dwell on the thought, she heard a soft voice from below. Looking down, to her surprise, she saw Fluttershy, her fellow pink and yellow pegasus mare from CloudsDale. Feeling delighted to see a friendly face, Dash calmly leapt off of the branches and to the ground to face the kind hearted mare.

"Sup, Fluttershy," she greeted, "What'cha doing up so early?"

"Oh, well," Fluttershy started, running a hoof through her pink hair, "I was checking on the nests around here since this is the time of the week my bird friends' eggs are supposed to hatch."

Fluttershy softly floated towards the tree, where three birds circled around her. Dash chuckled again, melancholically this time, watching the fliers freely zoom about the pegasus.

"This nest had a baby bird who still had trouble trying to fly," she explained, pointing at an empty nest on a branch, "I was trying to help it overcome his fear when you, um, crashed into the tree…"

Dash was surprised and a little worried for the baby bird, "Is it okay? It's not hurt, is it?" she asked quickly.

Fluttershy shook her head as a miniature bird fluttered its way towards her and roosted in her hair, "Oh no. It was actually the push he needed to start flying."

The tiny bird fluttered off of the pegasus and into a held hoof, Fluttershy nuzzling the young flier a little. She let the bird flutter away and towards waiting parents roosting on a nearby branch. Fluttershy gently descended to the ground as Dash looked at the bird family.

"If it weren't for you, the little one wouldn't have been able to fly. Thanks for your help," the pegasus said sweetly.

"Uh huh, sure…" Dash said absentmindedly as she watched the birds fly off, the little one fluttering behind.

As Dash solemnly faced Fluttershy, the mare could sense something was upsetting her friend. She wasn't as energetic as she usually was. And she was a bit less mindful of the mess she was covered in, even though the rainbow pegasus liked to get dirty every now and then. Maybe she was tired? Maybe something was depressing her? Being the concerned friend she was, Fluttershy decided to ask.

"Um, Rainbow Dash," she asked, "Are you okay? You don't sound too good."

"Oh…" Dash was uncertain if she could tell Fluttershy about her problem. She didn't want to remember yesterday, especially Macintosh, "No, I'm okay."

Fluttershy knew she was lying. Her voice lacked the confidence it usually had. She wasn't looking at her directly either. The gentle mare didn't like being lied to and hated seeing her friends upset, but she knew that in these kinds of situations, patience was required to have others open up to you about problems, even with close friends.

"Are you sure? You're not tired or anything, are you?" she persisted.

Rainbow Dash sighed as she tried to swipe off some tree sap on her shoulder.

"Well, I am a little sore, actually," the rainbow mare answered.

"Sore? From what?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well…" Dash decided to be vague about her story, "I was at AJ's place helping around with some work and I tripped in the shed."

The yellow mare gasped, "Really? You're not hurt, are you?"

Dash shook her head, "No, I'm fine now, as you can see." Dash moved her hoof from her shoulder to her back, "It left an annoying crick in my back, though…"

Fluttershy sighed with relief, but couldn't help but feel sad for the rainbow mare. She knew that a sore back influenced a pegasi's flight as aching muscles affected the ones controlling the wings. Rainbow Dash loved to fly, but if a sore back was going to break her day, she couldn't have that. Fluttershy placed a wrist on her mouth as she hummed in thought.

"Well," she began, Rainbow Dash occupied with self maintenance, "you can always to go Aloe's and Lotus' Spa."

That caught her attention, "A spa?" she parroted, almost daunted by the word, "Where they paint your face with green mud and have mud baths and junk like that?"

Fluttershy nodded, "It also has massages and therapeutic services that are recommended by dermatologists."

Dash stared into Fluttershy with a face that grew more confused the longer she stood silent. Fluttershy grew uncomfortable until she realized the problem and simplified.

"Umm, stuff that skin doctors say are good…" the mare subconsciously began rubbing her arm with her other hoof, "It would help you get rid of your aches."

At this, Dash suddenly became interested. "Wow, really? Why didn't you just say so?" The sooner she could be rid of her aches, the better. "Where's it at?"

"Oh, umm, not too far from Rarity's Boutique," the mare answered softly.

Dash nodded, "Gotcha. I'll head there right now." The mare turned around to take off, but remembered her manners and turned back. "Thanks Fluttershy."

And the pegasus sped off on her way to the spa. Fluttershy was a little sad that she couldn't say goodbye in return, but it was Dash after all. She got used to it. She was more concerned about the risks of flying with an aching back, especially how notoriously fast Rainbow Dash flew.

"She really shouldn't be flying with that sore back," she said to herself.

Turning around to resume her day, she couldn't help but think to herself.

'The spa is gonna need a new roof.'

…

CRASH!

All sound was deafened. No pony moved. They all stared at the fading dust cloud as the image of a rainbow maned pegasus became clearer. Twitching, dazed, and upside down on her neck, the norm pose of Rainbow Dash after a less than spectacular landing, if you could call it that. The dust settled and the mare shook her head, looking out at the crowd before her. She had managed to land in the lobby of the spa as the cashier, Lotus, and a green maned customer whom she recognized as Daisy were staring at her.

"Meant to do that," she quickly said as she stood up, flinching from the screaming pain in her back.

Rainbow Dash shook the loose dust off of her as she trotted towards the register, bystanders still shocked by the unexpected arrival of the mare. Dash took a moment at the counter until it occurred to her that Daisy was there before her.

"Oh, where you two busy?" she asked, looking at the flower mare, "Sorry if I interrupted."

Daisy got over the shock of the mare's appearance and kindly stood back.

"Oh, no. Go ahead," she said nervously.

Dash didn't think much of the mare's odd behavior, but disregarded it as she turned to the cashier.

"Hey, you guys got massages here?" she asked.

Lotus stalled her answer, "Uhh, yes, we do. What do you need?"

"I need a full body massage," the rainbow mare said as she looked at the services behind the wall, "And…maybe a hot bath too."

"Uhh, okay," Lotus had never felt so out of place in her own shop before, "How would you like your shampoo? Scented? Moisturizing? We have a new deodorant brand of shampoo shipped in from Asia."

"Uhh," Dash wasn't sure about her choice of shampoo. She usually bought the cheapest working brand and knew little about the additives they put in shampoos, "The one that can get tree sap out of my coat."

"Oh, alright," It wasn't hard to imagine the athlete needing a strong cleaning shampoo, considering the accidents she had, "I'll write you down for the beads mixture. Will that be all for today, miss Dash?"

Miss Dash. She chuckled. That was a very teacherly name.

"Yes please. How much will that be?"

"Forty four bits."

"Forty four bits?" Dash thought about backing out of the order, but she needed the massage more than anything right now. After getting over the initial shock of the price, Dash sighed tiredly, "This better be worth it."

…

"It was totally worth it…"

She had never felt so clean before. Her coat for the first time in a long while felt lush and fine, like grass in the morning. Her mane was doing even better after the bath, feeling like silk after the conditioner she used. The bathrobe she was wearing at the moment seemed to make her coat feel doubly fine, the soft cloth rubbing smoothly against herself. And the massage. She had never felt so good before. The way her aches just melted away from her body, the satisfying popping of her bones as all discomfort just disappeared, she almost thought about becoming a regular visitor to the spa just for these massages.

Almost.

As it turns out, some of the worst ponies she could have ever met frequented the shop as well. Vile, unbearable creatures whose voices were like vultures over the phone. Of course the rainbow mare didn't like them very much as she had met their kind before back in flight school. Always gaudily dressed, faces drenched in makeup, Dash hated these types of ponies just by looking at them.

And they weren't nice to know either.

"Oh Celestia, did you see Manny at the mall today?" One mare asked to another beside her, "She was shopping for some new clothes there."

"So?" The other mare, a violet mane stuffed with hair curlers and a blue coat, replied.

"She was shopping at Old Neighvy."

At this, all of the mares in the room, save for Rainbow Dash, gasped simultaneously, their surprises greatly exaggerated.

"She wouldn't be caught dead in that store. You're lying, aren't you," a green pony responded in disbelief.

"Sure as hoofshine, I saw her with my own eyes," the yellow and red pony answered, "What do you think it means?"

"She's either out of her mind," the blue mare said, "Or she's shopping for presents. You know she has a coltfriend."

"Emerson, you mean? Yeah, that must be it," the green mare said, "She's totally head over heels for him."

"I can see why. He's smart, handsome, and he has the dreamiest voice I've ever heard," the yellow filly said.

"Well, he's no Big Mac, but he's good enough."

Dash groaned. Here we go again. She couldn't bear to hear more of that stallion today. She was actually hoping to clear her mind of him in this spa through the massages. But they just had to bring up the pony again, to her dismay.

Thankfully, Dash's torment was postponed as the masseuse walked into the room toting a cart of warm towels. The pony, wearing a light tan coat and a dark blonde mane, stood next to the rainbow mare and began unfolding the towels.

"So, how are you enjoying your spa day, Miss Rainbow?" the mare asked. Her voice had a sort of European accent to it.

"Eh, it was nice…" she answered, slightly upset.

"Was? What's bringing you down?" Quake asked, holding a towel next to the mare. "Undo your robe, please."

As Dash did so, she answered, "Well, I'm just not used to crowds like these," Dash mentally pointed to the mares to the left of her. The masseuse seemed to have noticed.

"Ah. Ignore them," she said, placing the soothing towel on Dash's back, "They can be quite an earful, but they'll be out o' your mane as soon as they came in. They don't hang around here for long."

"It doesn't bother you?" she asked, turning to the mare.

"It does, but I'm not allowed to say that," the mare said, turning sly and whispering, "At least not directly."

Rainbow Dash chuckled as the masseuse got to work. She started by filling out the towel to suit the body of the pony, then began to deliver quick chops with her hooves. Quake sure did live up to her name as her hooves pounded at the rainbow pony's back, her breathing rattled as the masseuse went at it. The warm towel was losing its heat as Quake worked, the warmth moving into Dash's muscles and making them relax more.

"Your back is so tense, more so then it should be," Quake spoke up, "I don't normally ask this of my clients, but you're such a rare visitor I can't help but be curious. What made you come here for a massage?"

Dash sighed, the breath rumbling from the massage. She didn't want to talk about yesterday, about how much trouble she was to the farm. It still hurt her now to think of herself being a distraction to Big Macintosh, but it wasn't like she could talk to her friends about it. Fluttershy wouldn't know what to make of the situation, Rarity would probably gossip about it all over town, which she did not want, Pinkie would probably suggest a party as usual, and Twilight would probably look for a book on it. She doubted her friends had actual experiences with other stallions to offer helpful enough advice for her, Rarity maybe but she was a gossip, so she had little options of who to discuss it over with. She might as well tell the random stranger karate chopping her back about her troubles.

"Well," Dash started, just as the masseuse stopped to rest her hooves, "It happened yesterday. I was at Sweet Apple Acres…"

"Uh huh," Quake said to ensure she was listening as she began to rub the mare's shoulders.

"I was helping around at work and then I got into an accident. I actually crashed into the tool shed of the barn. Embarrassing, huh?" Dash said sympathetically.

Quake's expression was unfazed. She almost seemed disappointed at the story.

"There's more you're not telling, Miss Dash," Quake said, surprising Dash, "You think these aches all came from that accident? You're stressed, I know it."

"Wha…what are you talking about…?" Dash tried to cover up the truth. "That was it. I crashed and got a bad ache. What more is there to it?"

"I wouldn't be lying to the masseuse on your back if I were you," the massager said, rubbing harder into the rainbow mare's body, "I know how muscles work, and I know how stress affects them, physically and emotionally."

Dash sighed. She was right. She hadn't realized it, but the whole ordeal was taking its toll on her. Perhaps it was making things worse for her by avoiding the problem altogether. She was running from it because she was too afraid to confront the problem herself.

* * *

I'm gonna miss Quake from this story. Maybe a side story will suffice in the future.

Well, there you have it. Again, I apologize if you are upset with the turn of events leading to the cancellation of this story, but I have decided to restart it for the sake of doing it better.

I promise that Change of Pace will be much better than how this story would have originally turned out. All I ask of you is to have some faith in me.

Well, that's a load off my chest. Hopefully this doesn't happen again… *cough*

Keep writing.


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